It's only half past (the point of no return)
by shortstuff93
Summary: "I was left in a house with a kid on a hit list and a gang leader with a gun, while he sat in the car and muted his radio so he didn't have to listen, and you're telling me I'm the one that's going to have to stand up in court and justify myself?" She folded her arms and stopped pacing, turning to face Oliver. "This is bullshit."


**A/N: Hi! I'm pretty new to this fan fiction thing, so let me know what you think! :)**

"I'm really sorry, Andy." Oliver raised his eyes from the floor to chance a regretful glance at Andy, who was sat opposite his desk, head in hands. 

"You have got to be kidding me." She looked up to meet his gaze ; he winced at the sheen in her eyes that told him she was holding back tears. 'This isn't fair, Oliver.' 

"I know that. I did everything I could, but this kid has some serious connections." She scoffed. Stupid, stupid kid. "If it makes you feel any better, this is the worst of it, okay? Two weeks suspension with pay, pending investigation. Just think of it as a break, eh?" 

Shaw felt guilty. Really guilty. He knew Duncan's allegations would cause a stir given the importance of his stepfather, but he was genuinely shocked that morning when the Inspector informed him that McNally had to be taken out for two weeks while her 'capabilities as a training officer' were assessed. 

"A break?!" Andy stood up and started pacing in front of the desk. He immediately knew it was the wrong thing to say. "This goes on my record, Oliver. Like 'conduct unbecoming' wasn't enough, now everyone's going to know I couldn't hack having my own rookie, too. And you know what? _He's_ the one that couldn't handle it. Not the uniform, or the streets, _him_, not me. I was left in a house with a kid on a hit list and a gang leader with a gun, while he sat in the car and muted his radio so he didn't have to listen, and you're telling me I'm the one that's going to have to stand up in court and justify myself?" She folded her arms and stopped pacing, turning to face Oliver. "This is bullshit." 

"Andy, my hands are tied. I don't agree with it, but there's nothing I can do." Her face crumpled; she turned around quickly to leave the office before she broke down. "I'm sorry..." 

"Yeah, me too." He winced again as she slammed the door behind her, drawing the attention of several others working at their desks below.

* * *

Sam looked up from his computer screen at the noise. He had been alternating between working and watching what was going on through the glass for the past half hour. He had no idea what was happening but when he saw Andy pacing and his buddy's solemn expression he knew it must be serious. Now he watched as Andy jogged down the stairs and swiftly headed towards the women's locker room, avoiding eye contact with anybody as she passed. He could tell she was upset because her eyebrows were set in that crinkled way that always made his breath catch in his throat at the thought that she was hurting. He gave her a second to reach her destination before getting up from his chair to meet her there, not caring that everybody watching knew exactly where he was going. He couldn't bring himself to care about that kind of thing anymore- Andy was his priority and he didn't give a damn who knew about it. 

He didn't bother knocking, knowing at that time that Andy would be the only one in there. He lingered in the doorway for a second, watching her stuff things into her bag aggressively. He was pretty sure she was trying to make as much noise as possible, she was venting her frustration under her breath and banging the contents of her locker against every internal wall in the process of yanking them out. 

He could tell that she knew he was there because she was actively ignoring his gaze, so he walked right up to her from behind and gently placed his hands over her shoulders. He felt her deflate a little under his touch. She immediately stopped what she was doing, and in the process she dropped the magnetic mirror that she had torn from her locker door onto the floor, jumping as it shattered into hundreds of little pieces. 

"Shit, Sam. Shit!" She pushed him back and knelt on the floor, scooping as much of the glass up as she could. He grabbed her underneath her arms and pulled her up, guiding her towards the bench. 

"Be careful McNally, you're gonna get cut." He cringed at his harsh tone and her reaction as she flinched away from him. 

"I know what I'm doing S_warek, _I'm not five." She glared at him as she dumped her handful of glass into the trashcan by the bench. 

"Sorry. I'm sorry. I just don't want you to get hurt." Her gaze softened at his obvious double meaning and he moved closer to her, touching his thumb to her face while his fingers stroked behind her neck. She closed her eyes tightly. It had been a stressful day and his affection was almost overwhelming in its calming effect. "Andy. Andy, look at me." He prompted her to open her eyes and she did, slowly meeting his gaze as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. "What happened, sweetheart?" She puffed out a deep breath. 

"I'm suspended." He wasn't expecting that. 

"What?!" He stepped back, shocked. "Why?!" 

"Apparently Duncan Moore is kicking up quite the fuss. I've got two weeks, with pay, while they pick apart everything about me to judge who was at fault." She threw her arms in the air in frustration and sat down on the bench with a groan. 

"That's bullshit! Can't Oliver do anything?" He sat next to her, brow furrowed. 

"Apparently not. I just have to wait it out. He says it's unlikely to come to anything serious but they might end up reinstating him, and a second suspension doesn't exactly make me look fantastic." He scooted closer to her, not really knowing what to say. He didn't tend to get involved with division politics, and this seemed like a unique case anyway. 

"Hey." Andy looked at him and he could read the exhaustion on her face. She'd just come off a double shift and having this thrown at her was not the way she wanted to end her day. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, placing a reassuring kiss on her forehead. "It's gonna be okay, alright? I know it sucks, it's wrong and it's frustrating, but we'll get through it." He spoke softly, in a tone he reserved just for her, usually in the early hours of the morning when they were tangled up together. Hearing it now warmed her from the inside. He wiped away a tear as it escaped. "Why don't you finish packing, I'll clean up the glass and we can go to my place. I have ice cream." She gave him a watery smile. 

"Pistachio?" He grinned. 

"Of course." 

"Okay." He stood up to locate a broom and began sweeping up the shards of glass. She finished cramming her stuff into her bag and watched him for a second. "Hey, Sam?" He looked up. "Thanks." He grinned. 

"I'll kick his ass too, you know? Next time I see him." She laughed. "Well, maybe not physically. I don't want to cause you any problems. But I'll do it with my eyes. Moore's gonna be so scared, he won't even want to come back!" She laughed harder and he winked at her. "Ready to go?" She nodded as he took the bag from her and took hold of her hand, squeezing it as she glanced around sadly. 

"I can't believe this is happening again." 

He ran his hand up her arm and pulled her closer for a kiss. She sighed into it and he pulled back to nudge at her nose with his. 

"You know what's different this time?" She raised a questioning eyebrow. "You've got me." She smiled. "So don't go running off to Temagami with your paddle, okay? I have a few days off next week, I was thinking about going to see Sarah. You could come with me, you know? If you want to. I mean, you don't have..." She cut off his rambling. 

"I'd love to, Sam." He smiled down at her. 

"Yeah?" 

"Yeah. Now, how about we get going? I think I heard you mention something about ice cream..."


End file.
